The present Invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Begonia plant, botanically known as Begonia semperflorens, and hereinafter referred to by the name ‘Gum Drop Red’.
The new Begonia is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventor in Fukuoka, Kyushu, Japan. The objective of the breeding program was to develop new Begonia cultivars with double flowers and attractive leaf and flower coloration.
The new Begonia originated from a cross made by the Inventor in 1995, of the Begonia semperflorens cultivar Double Pink, not patented, as the female, or seed parent, with the Begonia semperflorens cultivar Bazel, not patented, as the male, or pollen parent. The cultivar Gum Drop Red was discovered and selected by the Inventor as a flowering plant within the progeny of the stated cross in a controlled environment in Fukuoka, Kyushu, Japan.
Asexual reproduction of the new Begonia by cuttings taken in a controlled environment in Fukuoka, Kyushu, Japan since 1999 has shown that the unique features of this new Begonia are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.